


Last Minute Practice

by ApprenticedMagician



Category: Free!
Genre: Confessions, Cuddling & Snuggling, Established Relationship, Fluff, M/M, Sleepy Cuddles, Spooning, in English because Rin is a dork
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-03-03
Updated: 2017-03-03
Packaged: 2018-09-28 00:57:29
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 858
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10060337
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ApprenticedMagician/pseuds/ApprenticedMagician
Summary: Everyone knows the best time to practice English is in the late-night hours the night before you and your boyfriend are poised to make the national swim team.





	

“...you.”

Half-way asleep, Haruka slowly blinked his way to wakefulness. Had Rin said something? Surely he must have, there was less than three millimeters between their bodies in the bed they shared and Haruka wasn’t one to imagine things. Checking the clock made Haruka doubt himself though – what on earth could Rin have to say at one forty-five the morning before their prelims for the national team?

“Haru? Did ya hear me?”

Huh, so Rin had said something. Which was pretty rude of him given the circumstances. Still, Haruka wagered it would be less troublesome to let Rin say his piece than fight Rin’s attempts to steal his attention.

His _waking_ attention. At _one forty-five in the A.M._

“What, Rin?”

Oh god, nope, he was immediately wrong, Haruka could _feel_ the shit-eating grin curl against his neck where Rin had snuggled close. Humouring his boyfriend had been a terrible idea and Haru regretted it immediately.

“I said,” and then, in unfaltering English tucked close to Haruka’s skin, “I love you.”

God above, how _stupid_ could Rin be? Haruka didn’t recognize the exact shape of the English words but he could still feel the shape of Rin’s grin, wide and happy like he was getting away with some great victory and he hugged Haruka so close there was no room to struggle even if he had wanted to. He could practically _feel heat_ radiating from Rin’s blushing skin as he whispered his encoded confession, close and hushed like this was some big secret he’d been waiting ages to reveal.

Moron. Why was he keeping Haruka awake to tell him things he already knew in a language he still struggled to understand?

Still, hearing it did kind of set off sparks under Haruka’s skin. Even at one forty-five in the morning.

Social convention said the polite thing to do would be acknowledging that Rin made him feel good. So Haruka said, “Yeah,” and settled more comfortably onto his pillow in preparation for sleep.

Except.

For some reason, Rin’s grin grew wider.

_Oh no_.

“I love you.” Still in English, this one was just a little louder than before. Upset with his own stupidity and misjudgement, Haruka ignored it and stubbornly closed his eyes. But then again, even louder, the confession came: “I love you.”

“I heard you,” the freestyle swimmer snapped. And then his eyes flew open because now Rin was _snuggling_ , running his feet and hands excitedly over Haruka’s body and reaching up to nip playfully at Haruka’s ear and _damnit_ he knew it _tickled_ when he did that.

Punctuating his point with short silly kisses to Haruka’s face and forehead, Rin declared quite proudly, still in English, “I love you, _Nanase._ ”

Haruka was going to kick this imbecile off the mattress.

“I _get it,_ Rin,” he said giving a light shove to Rin’s face and glaring a little, trying to warn Rin that he was treading on thin ice no matter how nice and good his affection felt. They both needed their sleep dammit and he was _not_ going to mess up this chance to swim at the nationals with Rin and show the whole world what they could do together.

“I don’t think you do,” Rin teased, squirming even closer to sneak in nibbling kisses to Haruka’s chin and jawline. Haruka thought of struggling but Rin’s arms entrapped him firmly, reading his mind as easily as if they were racing in adjoining lanes. Haruka decided to fight back anyway but Rin only brought up a leg to hook over Haruka’s hips, ensuring the boy’s compliance through the force of cuddling. Haruka gave a grunt of displeasure and complained, “You’re hot, Rin. Stop stifling me.”

“Ohhh?” Haruka rolled his eyes at Rin’s smug exhalation, even though it only served to _heat Haruka’s skin even more_. “You think I’m hot, do you?”

“Like a barren desert,” Haruka deadpanned, elbowing Rin’s abdomen as best he could and regretting everything in his life that had led to him and Rin cuddling on this bed in Tokyo. “We need to _sleep,_ Rin.”

Rin snickered – probably reading his thoughts again – and ducked back to Haruka’s ear, delivering one final nip and then a final confession, this time in Japanese and with different words, “I feel like I could race across entire oceans when I swim with you.”

And with that, Rin released his captive from the embrace, rolled onto his back and settled down to sleep, as though nothing monumental had happened. As though he hadn’t just stolen Haruka’s heart all over again and left him with too many feelings and not enough words.

Well. Two could play at that game.

Forcibly tugging Rin back into a prime cuddling position, Haruka tried not to smile at the yelp Rin released and then hid his smile in the skin of Rin’s muscular arm when that ultimately failed.

“Stop saying stupid things,” he admonished.

But, of course, Rin wasn’t done being stupid and simply grinned to match the smile he could feel and muttered a quick “I love you.”

Haruka let that one slide.

Resisting Rin was always more trouble than it was worth. 

**Author's Note:**

> This was written also from a prompt in RinHaru Week 2015. Except not super inspired, since it was written for the bonus round 'Other' and was given free reign to write whatever I wanted. The result is the fluffiest damn thing I have ever ever ever written. 
> 
> Thanks for reading!


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